Communications systems have been used to control firearm safeties for some time. For example, some communications controlled firearm safeties have been described in German Patents DE 25 05 604; DE 29 40 513; and DE 102 22 332 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,845. According to German Patent DE 25 05 604, a transmitter sends signals (for example, light signals) to a weapon to enable certain operations of the weapon. The signals are directed toward a receiver mounted on the weapon. According to German Patent DE 29 40 513, such signals—e.g., infrared light signals—are encoded, and the weapon safety device includes a decoding device, which only releases certain functions of the weapon depending on which encoded signal is received by the weapon safety device. For example, one signal may be sent for unlocking the weapon to allow loading and unloading, and another signal may be sent for unlocking the weapon to allow shooting.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,845 describes an electromagnetic unlocking and locking device. In addition, German Patent DE 102 22 332 describes a pattern transmitter (code transmitter) that transmits signals in the form of radio waves, acoustic signals, optical signals or electrical signals to a weapon, and the weapon itself comprises an electronic comparator circuit, which checks the received signal patterns for their validity and only unlocks (releases the safety of) the weapon if a valid signal is received.
All these systems are basically suitable to be used in a shooting facility or in a shooting range in order restrict the use of weapons to a certain spatial range. That is, the weapon may only be shot, for example, in a certain direction or only in a certain zone, in which it can receive the corresponding release signals. Also, as described above with German Patent DE 102 22 332, a weapon may be arranged to acknowledge different release signals, i.e., different signals intended to enable different operations. As described in German Patent DE 102 22 332, this may be done using changing signal patterns created by means of corresponding dialog functions. Thus, the weapon may receive a variety of signals from the enabling apparatus. However, the information exchange between the weapon and the enabling apparatus is limited to the weapon sending an inquiry signal to the pattern transmitter, which then transmits a corresponding release signal to the weapon. The pattern transmitter releases every weapon, which has sent an inquiry signal, and that is located within the transmission range of the enabling apparatus. Thus, this system does not provide an individually controllable release of weapons. It means that the flexibility of these systems with relation to the controllable weapons is limited. So, for example, the only way to ensure that a lost or stolen weapon can no longer be activated by the enabling device (i.e., the pattern transmitter) is to change the signal pattern for the release signal and/or for the inquiry signal. To achieve this, the signal receivers and the inquiry signal transmitters on the weapons that are to continue to be released (i.e., authorized weapons) must be changed accordingly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,271 also discloses weapon safety that is controlled via communications. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,271, a weapon-based transmitter sends an inquiry signal, which is received by a weapon-independent enabling apparatus, which then transmits an identification signal to a receiver in the weapon. The receiver, upon receiving this identification signal, then triggers a weapon-based safety device to enable the weapon. In the system of the '271 patent, the actual identification and enabling process are performed from the weapon itself. This means that the exchange of identification requires an active transmitter on the weapon. This arrangement does not allow an exchange of identification controlled exclusively by a weapon-independent enabling apparatus.